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From Scholastica Hir, Makurdi
The Benue State Government has commenced a statewide needs assessment of general hospitals to ascertain and address infrastructure, equipment and service gaps in state hospitals.
The Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr Paul Ogwuche, is leading the high-level statewide tour of general hospitals as part of Governor Hyacinth Alia’s comprehensive programme to rehabilitate, upgrade and reposition all secondary healthcare facilities across the state.
The exercise, which began at the General Hospital, North Bank, Makurdi, last Friday, continued over the weekend with Dr Ogwuche leading a delegation to General Hospitals in Aliade, Gwer West Local Government Area (LGA); Idekpa in Ohimini LGA; Otukpa in Ogbadibo LGA; and Oju in Oju LGA.
The assessment team included the representative of Project C.U.R.E., USA, Mrs Kerry Jeffords; the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Dr Beatrice Tsavmbu; the Executive Secretary of the Benue State Health Management Board, Dr Matthew Onoja; and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs, Mr Fidelis Unongo.
Speaking during the visits, Dr Ogwuche reaffirmed the commitment of Governor Hyacinth Alia to the systematic rehabilitation and strengthening of secondary healthcare facilities, noting that healthcare delivery remains a core pillar of the Governor’s people-centred governance agenda.
The Commissioner recalled that in 2025, Governor Alia facilitated the donation of 10 containers of assorted high-tech medical equipment valued at several billions of naira through Project C.U.R.E., USA.
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He explained that the ongoing needs assessment is critical to ensuring the transparent, efficient and equitable deployment of the donated equipment, strictly guided by clearly identified facility-level needs.
According to Ogwuche, the assessment exercise has provided valuable first-hand insights into infrastructural deficiencies, equipment gaps and service delivery challenges confronting secondary healthcare facilities across the visited locations, thereby informing targeted and evidence-based interventions.
He commended Governor Alia for prioritising the health and wellbeing of Benue citizens, describing the administration’s health sector reforms as people-focused, deliberate and results-oriented.
The Commissioner also urged healthcare workers across the state to align with the ongoing reforms by upholding professionalism, accountability and dedication to duty, stressing that improvements in infrastructure must be matched with corresponding improvements in service delivery and patient care.
The statewide hospital needs assessment, he noted, underscores the Alia administration’s determination to rebuild the foundations of public healthcare delivery in Benue State, restore confidence in government-owned health facilities and ensure that they effectively serve the people for whom they were established.
Under the leadership of Governor Hyacinth Alia, and through the direct coordination of Dr Paul Ogwuche, the Benue State Government says it is moving decisively from assessment to action, translating policy direction into measurable outcomes and accelerating the transformation of secondary healthcare facilities in line with the administration’s broader health sector renewal agenda.
